美是神的名字:狄奥尼修斯的神学美学探析

Beauty is the Name of God:An Analysis of Dionysius’Theological Aesthetics

在启蒙理性的背景下,神学与美学都经历了祛魅的过程,前者被看做是人作为崇高存在物的别名,而后者则被剥去理解的神秘性进入科学中。这一共同降格使得美与神学的结合变得不可能,然而,向前溯源到古代世界的边缘时,美与神的关系却是格外紧密的,这一关系的联合以狄奥尼修斯的神学思想作为开端。在讨论认识上帝的可能时,狄奥尼修斯首先追寻了神名的传统,承认了祂的无法言说性,因而,为了能够切近上帝,狄奥尼修斯把“善”“光”“美”等概念称为神的名字,而其中美则起到了关键的桥梁作用。狄奥尼修斯首先把美与善相结合,他区分了“美”和“美丽的”,通过美的实体化充盈了善的内部,使抽象的善变得可见,但美的感性维度并不能够看见神的形象,只有通过美的超感性维度,即静观的沉思,才能体悟到图像之外隐藏的存在。为了进一步说明如何通过美理解善,狄奥尼修斯又类比了美与光,他借鉴普罗提诺的流溢说,把美看做是分有但永远丰盈的源泉。进一步的,通过美,他打破了善所固有的等级制度,把美理解为神对万物的呼喊和邀请,因而,分有与统一成为了神与万物共同的参与。狄奥尼修斯的神学美学是他留给基督教世界的丰厚遗产,除了在鼎盛的中世纪,在现代社会,神学美学也获得了复兴,这一复兴,不仅是对宗教的承诺,也是对后现代的思考。

fickle visible,but the beautiful perceptual dimensions is not able to see the image of god,only through the beautiful ultra perceptual dimensions,namely mindfulness meditation,to connect to the existence of hidden image.To further illustrate how good can be understood through beauty,Dionysius draws an analogy between beauty and light,drawing on the overflow theory of Plotinus,which sees beauty as a source of separate but eternal abundance.Further,through beauty,he broke the inherent hierarchy of goodness and understood beauty as god’s call and invitation to all things.Thus,division and unity became the common participation of god and all things.Dionysius’theological aesthetics is his rich legacy to the Christian world.In addition to the heyday of the Middle Ages,theological aesthetics also received a revival in modern society.This revival is not only a commitment to religion,but also a reflection on post-modernism.